Hey guys! I'm back with the second episode, and I really rushed to get it out as soon as I had time. This is probably the size of my future chapters because it's comfortable for me and I can release a new update once or maybe even twice a month. I'm doing a bit of character development for both Akirai and Hanabi, but I haven't introduced any new characters except for one. Next chapter I plan on making more appearances.

I'm sorry if last chapter was a bit hard to read; it was my first upload and all of my attempts to edit it were fruitless. I meant to add lines and stars to signify a change in scene, but I completely fucked up.

I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did.

Please leave a review, no matter if you liked it or not. Just a quick one would be great for me, because I'm trying to make this story more enjoyable for you guys.

I guess that's all I really have to say for now, so see ya next chapter!

PREVIOUSLY

Her voice was taken from her along with her victory. The sound that withdrew from her mouth was nothing more than a whisper.

"Just who are you Akirai".

beginning of chapter

She thought she would have a normal day, or at least normal for her standards. She thought she would have calmed down by now. She thought she would be able to get that foolish half gawking, half glowing look off of her face. But most importantly, she thought she would never lose to an opponent, let alone a newcomer who she's never even met before.

I would've heard about him if he were this… strong. Hanabi hated to admit it, but she gave credit to the strange ninja. Still she wondered why a Leaf shinobi would attack her out of nowhere like that. And why he carried such odd weaponry on him. The time it would take to make a shuriken in the shape of the villages symbol - why even bother? Moreover, when she looked for the remnants of his arsenal to perhaps learn a bit more about Akirai, all traces of them were gone. The talented Hyuga couldn't even locate it with her Byakugan, which could spot a fly landing on shit over a mile away.

And it wasn't as if she didn't try asking him all of these things in the first place. As soon as her first question had left her lips, the wily teenage shinobi had untied their hands, gave her a beaming smile with a wink that said "you'll find out soon enough", and promptly disappeared into thin air before her eyes. Hanabi's knees had been wobbling, preventing her from jumping off the torn apart roof used as the final set piece for their battle. She had stayed like that with a wild blush and an angry frown for 5 or so minutes, though she couldn't keep track of time in the state that she had been in. Truly, this guy was the definition of an enigma.

Her mind wrapped tightly to these thoughts, she didn't realize the immense damage she was doing to her own garden until Hinata snuck up behind (really just walked right up to, but it saves Hanabi some dignity at least) her and gave Hanabi's shoulder a light tap. Her sister's shyness aside, she truly didn't use a single word to convey her message to the daydreaming kunoichi. All it took was a sweeping gesture to the plants, now drowning in their own soil, to brake Hanabi's trance. At once the younger sister bellowed "Who did this?" to the heavens before noticing the light green watering pale in her hands. She looked down and lamely pointed an index finger at her bowed head in embarrassment, saving Hinata the trouble.

"Oh dear god, what am I going to do" Hanabi exhaled defeatedly. She didn't know whether she was talking about her father's reaction when he saw his garden ruthlessly murdered by his youngest daughter, or the thoughts that had drugged her mind into doing it in the first place. Little did she know that Hiashi wasn't the only Hyuga she had to answer to at the moment.

"So…", her elder sibling started. She let the invitation for conversation hang in the air for a moment, discomfort plaguing her with a sideways glance. Hinata didn't wait for the clearly rejected offer to be accepted and went on anyway. "What's got you so flustered Hanabi?" Hanabi's cheeks got a bit more pink than normal as she turned away. Clearly this was NOT the question that the embarrassed plant-assassin had wanted to answer at the time. Hinata, knowing this, lay the bait that would force her predictably rebellious sister into answering.

"Is it a… Boy?" The word 'boy' sounded so alien to Hanabi the way it was said, with so much… teasing, coming from her notoriously shy older sister no less. Not knowing how to react, blaming it on the tone of voice used but truly for the word said, Hanabi's entire face seemed to glow hot pink, as if she had just swallowed a jalapeno pepper. Apparently this signature blush was genetic, seeing as both heiresses could sport a face of that color when the topic of Boys had come up. But, unlike her more timid sister, the feisty Hanabi shook her head vigorously to shake the blush threatening to paint her entire body (failing miserably) and shouted "He just LEFT! Without saying a word of answer to make up for his previous actions. NO, he just goes and confronts me like that and then LEAVES. What's the matter with him!"

For Hinata this was a bit too much. An angry Hanabi was enough to deal with, but an angry Hanabi with boy troubles could overwhelm even the Hokage herself. Of course Tsunade was prone to fits as well. But Tsunade was a different story altogether; the older heiress wondered with a cringe whether GOD itself could stop the slug princess in that sort of state. Shaking the thoughts from her mind with more success than her younger sister, she tried to have a bit of fun.

"So Konohamaru's countless years of courting has finally gotten you falling for him?" Hinata 'wondered' out loud, suppressing a mischievous giggle. After fixing the major hole in their relationship, her one time of courage was when she was messing with her little sister. And this bout was particularly amusing, considering the hysterical reaction of a now completely flustered Hanabi.

"Wha-who-KONOHAMARU! Why would I fall for THAT goofball! I wasn't even CLOSE to talking about HIM!" While Hanabi exploded with an awkward-looking rage regarding her sister's mention of her not-so-secret admirer, said sister was having the time of her life. "WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT, HINATA?" Hanabi inwardly cursed herself and her sister - but mostly her sister - for causing her to sputter like that. Even still she couldn't calm herself down for another few sentences, continuing her rant on how everyone - her parents - friends - siblings, or sibling rather - and even absolute strangers were now ruining her life. The angry teen saying stereotypical angry teen things. How adorable.

By the time Hinata came back down to earth, Hanabi was getting to the good part;"…And Father always wants me to be a princess, like I'm a doll meant to be pampered. I have feelings! I always wanted to be a shinobi for the leaf village, not the Hyuga's little princess crony! And GOD FUCKING FORBID I ask for just a little freedom and he throws a hissy fit! And NOW? What if he finds out about today! I'm screwed!" Hanabi sounded shattered by the time she had finished, her voice cracking just to confirm it. Hinata knew why her sister turned out to be this fiery. She knew everything.

Hanabi was always her own person. She loved her individuality, which she thought had come from her status as a heiress. She had grown loving the feeling of looking out at the world and saying that she would be great someday, although without knowing what for. Hanabi knew that she may someday inherit the prominent Hyuga clan, but she still didn't necessarily understand exactly what that entailed. Hanabi convinced herself that she was cut out for the position but as she grew, she realized that was not the case. From Hiashi's, their father's, intense training regiment, Hanabi wanted to become a Leaf shinobi more than anything else. Moreover, after watching the intensity within the household during the 4th Shinobi World War, she would get haunted by harrowing nightmares about her future; her entire clan, or even village, riding on her decisions.

The pressure alone would give the almost-teenage Hanabi rashes and pimples. On her thirteenth birthday, Hanabi confronted her then-18-year-old older sister in their room and forced a promise to assume the role of clan leader in her stead. Unbeknownst to Hanabi, Hinata was already moving in on the position, and Neji, although from a side branch, was holding some weight in the power struggle. Between the two, Hanabi didn't have to worry about becoming something that she was afraid she couldn't. After that day she was miraculously rid of her cosmetic situation for life, although her rosier-than-Hyuga-cheeks were suspected (although it was completely untrue) to be a remaining problem.

After that episode Hanabi pledged to distance herself from her father's strict mindset over life. At first she tried dressing in a revealing manner, but although she had never liked it and eventually rid herself of the clothes (mostly for the very entranced attention from guys who happened to pass her by), Hanabi still wore what was absolutely unacceptable by her father's standards and what was comfortable for her; a win-win! She enlisted herself in the academy instead of continuing Hiashi's lessons, skipping straight to genin within a few months and proceeding to become a successful jonin-level kunoichi. In the academy she had learnt about different clans and new words, especially the forbidden, absolutely taboo curse words that were never heard by Hanabi's innocent ears before. She had later decided to make them a part of her every day vocabulary, although the sheer fear of what her father may have done to her prevented their use in front of him.

She was still a Hyuga, but not the Hyuga that her elders had in mind. Hanabi wanted to usher in a new type of Hyuga that wasn't known for arrogance and pride as the highest ranking clan in the Leaf, but a friendly and noble clan that respected fellow Leaf citizens at the same level as themselves. The aftermath of all of these thoughts and actions was the generation of a more down-to-earth, sensible Hanabi. Of course, a 'complete brat' or 'firecracker' were also common descriptions for the Hyuga heiress, as she was still spirited and reckless to a fault at times.

In her sister's eyes, she would make a completely disastrous leader, but an incredible shinobi. Hanabi wouldn't have it any other way.

Back to the conversation, if you could call it that, at hand (or out of hand), Hinata still had know idea what her kid sister meant by all of her blathering. Still the tirade continued, but Hinata stopped listening and focused on the garden. Thinking of what an outraged Hanabi may do to the vulnerable flowers with a shudder, she decided to take care of it alone.

"Hanabi… how about you go to town to… calm down a bit". Hinata, back to her coy ways, still left spaces in her sentences, especially when giving an order to someone. Of course it didn't sound like an order to the youngest of the duo, more like a question. Still, it shook Hanabi from her tirade, which was good enough for Hinata.

Hanabi simply gawked from her sister to the soaking garden bed. When her gaze returned to the former, she had made up her mind; with a curt nod and a shuffle of feet, Hanabi was clamoring to the front gate of the Hyuga Compound, just before giving her big sister a gleeful smile and promptly disappearing among the streets of the Leaf. Hinata sighed with a shake of the head and looked out at the mess before her. It's going to be a long day.

scene change

Hanabi felt a bit bad about her sister's new workload, but she didn't wallow in it. She had left and rapidly got over the guilt with bowling and sushi from the new restaurant in the center of town. After making a vow to herself and her waitress to return again next week, she took her leave. As she was walking out of the restaurant into the center of town, she greedily took one of the remnants of her sushi roll - that was meant for Hinata - and stuck it in her mouth with her eyes clenched shut in delight.

Although the last thing she needed to think about was food, she found the banner to a little booth that had taken her attention hostage. A small banner that spelled out in bright red ink on beige canvas "Ichiraku Ramen". Yes the Ichiraku, famous for the frequent visits of the city hero, Naruto Uzumaki. Apparently, since he was a kid he had loved Ichiraku's and never grew out of the taste. Granted Naruto was never one for monumental "inward growth". He was still a little kid inside his 23 year old body.

Without further digression, the ramen shop spiked her interest for the very reason it was famous in the first place; she had wanted to see Naruto and speak to him personally. Although Hanabi had seen him multiple times on occasion, she had only spoken to him a handful of moments. She wanted to know more about the city hero in the flesh, instead of untrustworthy rumors and rare sightings.

Curiosity, which had killed many cats and nearly one rash Hyuga heiress multiple times, took hold of Hanabi and willed her to step closer to the little shop. She heard a cheery voice politely thank the old man who ran the shop before slurping down what sounded like half of the bowl. The voice sounded very very familiar, and, forgetting about the possibility of finding Naruto, she investigated. As Hanabi pulled back the cloth draping from the ceiling to walk inside, she was greeted with a deadly sharp face. Flabbergasted eyes met one another as the one sitting slowly sucked the last of a noodle hanging lazily from the corner of his mouth. He seemed so surprised to see Hanabi that his red hair nearly spiked in shock.

This was unbelievable.

"Akirai?"

"Uh-huh", the speechless shinobi barely managed. The red haired ninja was now wearing something much more casual than the dark robe and flak jacket she had seen on him earlier. He wore a plain t-shirt matching the color of his locks and black sweatpants. The muscles on his arms were revealed by the short sleeved tee, surprisingly toned. In fact, his arm muscles looked stronger than any other ninja that Hanabi had seen in the Leaf. Knowing how he fought during their battle, she realized that it must have been all of the swordplay that he does. Looking at him, his skin was quite pale. Granted, not as pallid as the Hyuga clan but definitely pale. Moreover, his headband was removed from is forehead and instead tied to his upper arm for comfort. Most of his gear was removed from his body but he still carried his ninja pouch on his waist, sitting just to the right of his lower back.

What happened in the next few seconds confounded all in sight, including the old man chef. He simply stood there, allowing the ramen he had been cooking to crust and lightly burn. A light dust settled after the scuffle, with Hanabi emerging on top of the poor Akirai. She was straddling his diaphragm, hands at his collarbone, threatening to encroach on the shinobi's vulnerable neck. Her eyes were nearly sparking flame, burning her victim hollow with her glare. "You really are a feisty one, princess", he said, recollecting himself despite the recent events and maintaining a cool grin.

As response Hanabi allowed her petit yet deceivingly strong hands slide ever closer to his neck. "Now speak up. Why did you attack me?"

"Well look who's currently attacking who, Hanabi", he said still baring that frustrating smile. With a frown she looked toward the Leaf shinobi headband bound to his shoulder. Defeatedly, the Hyuga heiress disengaged with Akirai, allowing him to stand. After standing the mysterious shinobi sat on one of the stools, inviting Hanabi to sit on the adjacent one with a tap on the seat. Despite the awkwardness of the situation Hanabi, albeit after a cold stare, took the invitation and sat down.

"What are you doing here?" Staring at the table Hanabi completely ignored the attention from spectators.

"I was just speaking to Naruto Uzumaki", at that Hanabi came back to her spirited nature with a shocked look. Seeing this Akirai turned and laughed. His laugh was so genuine that it sounded childish. "What, haven't you ever eaten with him?"

His answer was given to him in the form of an absent shake of the head. He laughed once again and continued, "Now that I'm switching from the ANBU I've been speaking with the higher ups every day."

That was a lie. A complete lie. Hanabi had been to the black ops' base, seen the entire core without their masks (being a Hyuga heiress with x-ray vision has it's perks) and never did she remember red hair and green eyes. Yet his face was so genuine as it looked up towards the ceiling in thought. After a slight hesitation, Hanabi steeled herself and confronted this liar.

"That's not true. I've never seen your face!" Akirai completely transformed in the blink of an eye. A rather lighthearted smile morphed into a slightly vexed frown complemented by flaming eyes. No doubt about it, he was dead serious.

Without a word Akirai got to his feet and threw Hanabi from her chair and into his arms. Holding her he leapt from his position, out the shop and up to the rooftops. Being carried bridal style, Hanabi couldn't retaliate, his arms holding her to his torso. Furthermore he had pinned her arms between their bodies, preventing any completely expected punches to the neck. Utterly shocked and incapacitated she let out a shriek that was lost in the wind at the speed that they were shooting across the roofs. After a few moments they stopped atop an exceptionally tall building, completely invisible to the street and surrounding houses. He placed her on the steel panels that lined the roof, placing a hand in front of her face to stop her from hitting him

It didn't work.

Hanabi slammed her fist into his scarred cheek, knocking the piss out of him. He then fell to the ground with unthinkable force, leaving a nasty red mark that would probably become blue the next morning. Flexing his jaw in pain, Akirai stood to meet the ever angry Hanabi with a defensive raise of the arms. "I'm not trying to hurt you". Meanwhile he was completely confounded by this girl. How could she have such strength? More importantly, why the hell is she so mad all the time. Then Akirai thought to what he learned as an early teen years ago. She must be having…, he shuddered, ending the thought before it crept its way to his lips. Heaven forbid he actually speak what he was thinking to her; he wouldn't live to see the evening.

"Well I am"

"Fucking shit" Akirai's sighed the expletives defeatedly, eyes rolling as he saw her charge him. Now he finally realized how the Naru-Saku stories could have happened. You really picked the worst days to ask her out Naruto. "Will you just stop trying to beat me senseless long enough to hear me out!" Hanabi was in the middle of following through with her fist to the laying Akirai's head when she heard the words resonate in her mind. She proceeded to stop her attack and let the fist hang just inches away from his face. He let his gaze lazily glide from her imposing fist to her even more imposing face. "Sit".

Hanabi reluctantly melted her anger, managing to close the distance between them without attempting to kill him - for now. She used her arm to smoothly lower herself to the metallic panels next to Akirai. Both shinobi's elbows uncomfortably brushed against each other, causing Akirai to retreat a few inches. He then proceeded to dissect her face for any signs of his impending doom, and when he failed to find them the mysterious shinobi began.

"I'm going to tell you a few things that no one can know, ok?" Now Hanabi was interested. The barbaric manner in which he lead them to this spot was now almost sensible, preventing an even larger scene to be created and finding a spot to fess up without the prying eyes and ears of civilians. Like a child being offered a succulent candy Hanabi vigorously nodded her inaudible oath not to share his secret. At that the story continues.

"I was born to parents I've never met, ones that were ruthlessly murdered before I could remember. As an orphan I was sent to live with the others at an orphanage. The orphanage was rough, but through my experience there I garnered the attention of a man who changed my life. This man saw my…" Akirai paused to make an expression that seemed a paradox. It was giving off a bright and a somber presence at the same time, not a smile nor a frown. Hanabi looked on, vexed. "…potential, and placed me in an elite training program. This program had similar methods as the Foundation, but more strict. By the age of 12 I had finished most of my training and placed on a top secret black ops team. This team was only made up of three people, all people who've never shown their faces to the public. These three were the Leaf's hidden army. We were invisible and nonexistent to anyone other than the Hokage themselves. I left the team almost 2 months ago to transfer to the main core. With my experience Lady Tsunade placed me at jonin level."

"But why"

Why I left or -"

Why everything?" Hanabi's mind was racing faster than a horse. A secret team. Hidden Army? Was he really that good?

"Well I left because the team disbanded". Akirai seemed to ignore Hanabi's request for a full explanation, skipping right to the question that he had promoted earlier. "One of my teammates was KIA"

That was all Hanabi got from the strange shinobi for the rest of the day. After his previous statement he had assumed a blank position, staring off into the void of imagination. The talented-eyed kunoichi could sense but one emotion that he left lingering on his face, though; guilt. Without a word Akirai rose to his feet and assumed the seal for the teleportation jutsu. Before he could disappear in a white puff of smoke, though, his hand seal was smushed gingerly yet aggressively into a loose ball.

"At least tell me your last name" Hanabi offered. She needed a full name if she was going to find out more about his mysterious stranger. Her eyes burrowed into his, nearly reaching into his and pulling out the answers she needed through his teeth. Helpless, Akirai said one word;

"Goruono"

And with that he was gone, cleverly weaving a one handed seal with his free off-hand.

Akirai Goruono, Hanabi thought, focused to a sharp beam of lightning. I've got some work to do tonight.

Meanwhile, downtown, a head of crimson hair appeared out of a puff of white smoke. The shinobi stepped fully out of the smoke to reveal a red t-shirt and pitch black sweatpants. This, unfortunately, aroused the attention of a particular individual. One that had never seen this ninja before in his life. One that is curious and headstrong to a fault.

"Who are you?